Gill: Rio made 'serious mistake'

Manchester United chief executive David Gill has admitted Rio Ferdinand made "a serious mistake" when he missed a drugs test on September 23.

United's £29.3m (€42.2m) record signing is due to play his final game at Wolves before beginning a suspension for his failure to take the test at United's Carrington training ground.

Although Ferdinand has decided to appeal against the eight-month ban he received in Bolton last month, he will begin the punishment on Tuesday as scheduled.

The move is seen as part of a more conciliatory approach that has been adopted by Ferdinand and his club.

After spending the last 15 weeks insisting the 25-year-old is guilty of nothing more than forgetfulness, they have now decided to accept a significant error was made and hope it results in a more lenient outcome when the appeal is heard in between two and four weeks' time.

"Rio recognises that he has made a serious mistake, which is why he will begin the suspension immediately rather than wait for the outcome of the appeals procedure," said Gill.

"There are lessons to be learned for all of us from this episode and we recognise our own responsibilities in this matter and our important role in fighting the abuse of drugs in football and society at large.

"However, after studying the detailed verdict from the commission, we are convinced the player has a strong case to challenge both the verdict and the ban given the player's full explanation to the commission of the circumstances surrounding his failure to take the drugs test."

A Notice of Appeal will be lodged with the FA on Ferdinand's behalf on Monday, leaving him to sweat over the outcome of the eventual verdict.

As it currently stands, the 25-year-old will be out of the game until September 20.

If the length of the suspension is upheld, he would miss the remainder of United's season, the opening month of the 2004-05 campaign, including England's first two World Cup qualifiers in Austria and Poland, plus this summer's European Championships.

Although the three-man appeals panel, to be chaired by a non-FA affiliated QC, has the power to increase Ferdinand's sentence, it would appear to be an unlikely course of action.

Instead, the former West Ham and Leeds star will hope the suspension is halved, leaving him free to join Sven-Goran Eriksson's squad in time for the Euro 2004 opener against France in Lisbon on June 13.

"I want to get back playing for Manchester United and England as soon as possible and if starting the suspension now will help, then I am prepared to suffer it," said Ferdinand.

"I feel strongly that I have given an honest account of the circumstances which led to my mistake and I believe that the verdict and the ban are wrong.

"I would like to apologise for my oversight in missing my drugs test. I have previously made it clear that I condemn the use of drugs in any circumstances but especially in sport and I intend to continue helping to spread this message during and after any period of suspension that I have to serve."

At the time the original verdict was announced, United director and Ferdinand's legal adviser Maurice Watkins, described the punishment as "savage".

However, opinion within the sporting world was mixed, with World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound claiming the sentence was lenient compared to most other sports, who would have handed Ferdinand an automatic ban.

The player's supporters pointed to the £2,000 (€2,900) fine imposed on Manchester City's Christian Negouai in a similar case earlier in the year as evidence the punishment was far too excessive, particularly as Ferdinand has spent a large part of his career actively encouraging anti-drugs programmes.

United boss Alex Ferguson, team-mate Nicky Butt and fellow professional Eyal Berkovic, who was with Ferdinand in Manchester city centre on the afternoon of the missed test, all gave evidence on the 25-year-old's behalf and the Old Trafford club remain resolutely behind their man.

"Whilst Rio Ferdinand accepts that he missed an unannounced drugs test, and publicly apologises for that, he continues to maintain that he did not miss the test deliberately and that he did not have any reason to avoid it," said United in an official statement.

"The club respects his decision and will continue to support his appeal.

"Both Manchester United and Rio Ferdinand reiterate their strong condemnation of the use of drugs in any sport."